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Book of the Tearwood: Elves of Tal'entylar
Transcript of "The Book of the Tearwood: Elves of Tal'entylar," written by Jullafield Myzel. =Tearwood Forest= Tearwood Forest is the biggest and most elusive forest on the shores. Many dangers lurk beneath the massive trees, but the forest also conceals beauty and a rich history. In these books I will reveal some of these dangers and wonders to the literate world. I made a total of three expeditions into the forest to gather the knowledge I needed. First was a search for the rare nightfalls berry, and my first acquaintance with the forest. Second was a quest to find the legendary city of Tal’entylar. Third was an expedition to gather more information about the different sites in the forest. In total I spent six months in Tal’entylar myself, gathering written and oral knowledge about the forest and it’s history. Of course this book would not be possible without the ones who volunteered to aid me in my expeditions. They, like me, chose willingly to put their own lives at risk in the pursuit of knowledge, and I owe them much gratitude. The first book contains the history of the elves of Tearwood, and their present day life. Beginning with the founding of Tal’entylar, their war with a green dragon and the history of the Arcane Academy. The life and city of Tal’entylar will follow. History of the Tearwood Elves The history of the elves (most of it oral, but also written by a later generation) begins at the founding of Tal’entylar, thousands of years ago. It’s founding was decided and executed by the wood elf commune of the forest. It was to be a safe haven for all elven races of Tearwood, built high up in the branches of several enormous trees where no wild creature could reach it. That is exactly what it became, and more. It became a city of great beauty where the elves, who with their racial communes had long been fighting for survival on the forest floor, could finally prosper and progress to a peaceful civilisation of art and knowledge. But as we see more often in history, episodes of prosperity and peace tend to be followed by periods of depression, violence and insecurity. After two millennia of peace, an old or new inhabitant of the forest surfaced to threaten the existence of the elves once more. According to tradition, Sinjai, an enormous dragon filled with greed and violence, arose from the forest and came down upon Tal’entylar without warning. This first encounter was disastrous. Many elves were killed before Sinjai was chased away by the city’s powerful wizards and sorcerers. This, however, was only the beginning of a small but lengthy war which lasted for over 600 years. The dragon became more careful. Frightened by the mages, or so the elves believe, he stayed inside his lair for most of the war, letting his bugbear minions do most of the fighting. Even though these armies could not reach the city, they possessed a dangerous weapon: fire. To protect their city as well as the university, the elves built a new stronghold. A fortress placed on a strategical position, which did not allow the bugbears to reach Tal’entylar. This is how the war came to a stalemate which endured for many ages. About 200 years ago, the dragon once again came out of his shelter and attacked the fortress. It was completely destroyed, and nothing is left of it but ruins. However, the dragon was gravely wounded during the battle. This was to be the last battle of the war. Nobody has seen or heard from the dragon since. Unfortunately I was unable to locate the dragon’s old lair during my expedition, so it is unknown to me what has become of Sinjai. The Arcane Academy One of the great icons of the elven civilization was the Arcane Academy, founded by Calorith Ma'faril in the later ages of Tal'entylar's prosperous millennia, 941 years ago. Calorith, though still a youngster at the time, was one of the most powerful wizards of the city. He longed for an existence outside of Tal'entylar's increasingly aristocratic and formal social circles. A place where he could gather knowledge and study the arcane in peace. Thus he had his academy built outside of Tal'entylar, and magically warded against the dangers on the forest floor. Initially, Calorith intended his academy to be solely a place of study for him and his fellow wizards, but very soon it became a point of attraction for youngsters from Tal'entylar looking for scholarship, and even elves from outside Tearwood Forest. In present times, the former academy is little more than a magic-infested and overgrown ruin. It is filled with animated objects and undead mages. In the academy’s waning days, Calorith suddenly seems to have made a leap into madness. This most probably has been due to the admission of the half-elf Kheldom into the academy about 280 years ago. It was unusual to grant a non-elf admission, but Calorith vouched for the young man and made him his personal apprentice. As we all know, Kheldom has used his power to cause great havoc, and create magical perversions in search of power. It is possible that Calorith couldn’t handle the guilt of having taught and unleashed this power-hungry wizard upon the world. According to oral tradition, he first began forgetting even and primarily the most simple spell combination. He became increasingly absent during his lectures, and was said to be "mumbling like a madman". In the end, he became violent towards his students and began to conduct strange, useless experiments with humanoid races. Eventually he seems to have completely lost his mind, and in his mad rage he killed most of his students and scholars. That was the end of the Arcane Academy. One of the most peculiar findings of my expeditions was that Calorith is still alive, and living in his ruined academy. Our expedition party has met with him face to face. He addressed us as students first and after that he attacked us. Evidently, he seems to have lost all ability to think and reason clearly. Calorith has gone to madness. A sad way to end for such an important and powerful figure. Tal’entylar in the Present Much of Tal’entylar’s former grandeur still remains. The elves of Tal’entylar have a great love for the arts; namely music and painting. Their artistic attitude can be seen in the city itself. In every building and garden the elven feeling for graceful beauty is evident. The most popular place in Tal’entylar is the inn and bath, where elves of all standings gather to relax and enjoy themselves. Other important sites include the Palace of the Woods with the royal throne room, which is located at the central plaza, and also the temple dedicated to the elven pantheon. Little has changed over the ages in the city’s rule and society. Governing is done by a single noble family, from which kings and queens are chosen for life by a gathering of mages, priests and advisors and the family itself. This ensures that only competent rulers are brought to power. In all it’s ages Tal’entylar has known only wise and caring rulers and no political schemes or striving for power, as is so often the case in human politics. Tal’entylar’s social life is traditional and complex. There are various social circles which are mostly divided by standing and profession. We can take as examples the social circles of mages, of artists and of artisans. Most elves exclusively keep to their own circle when marrying, and children are taught the profession of their father, which assures that all families stay within their own social groups. Friendship is also often practiced within the own circle, although it is not uncommon to have friends from outside of it. Social behaviour is always very courteous, though within social groups the contact is usually more easygoing than contact between elves from different circles. Category:Lore Category:Books